THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 20, 1994 TAG: 9412200352
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
In his 1995-96 state budget released Monday, Gov. George F. Allen proposed cutting in half the funding for 30 museums and the state arts commission, and he recommended even deeper cuts for public broadcasting.
If the General Assembly approves Allen's amendments in its upcoming session, public broadcasting outlet WHRO will lose $400,000 and Norfolk's Chrysler Museum will lose $236,000.
``Clearly, if this happens, it'll make things very difficult for us,'' said Bob Frankel, director of the Chrysler.
Frankel said he did not know where he would trim the budget if the cuts go through.
``At this point, we are simply examining it.''
``This is pretty dismal for us,'' said James Warwick Jones, director of the Peninsula Fine Arts Center in Newport News. The center has a $380,000 budget, and was anticipating $80,000 from the state for 1995-96.
In making the cuts, Allen said Monday, he looked at whether a program was ``essential for state government and taxpayers to provide'' and whether the activity was ``more important than a tax cut for all of Virginia's working families, or other priorities the voters demand in law enforcement, education and job creation.''
Other area institutions listed among the $1.74 million in cuts to museums are the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, which stands to lose $123,000, the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach ($112,500), Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton ($100,000), the Children's Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth ($32,500) and Virginia Zoological Park in Norfolk ($30,000).
``It's something we all suspected was coming when the crime bill was voted on this summer, with its increased expenditures for building prisons,'' said Margo Carlock director of the Virginia Association of Museums.
Her association lists about 400 members, and only 30 museums receive line-item state funding, she said. But those museums are among the state's largest and most significant institutions.
In many cases, she said, ``belts have already been tightened as far as they can go. So I think we'll see a cutback in services and in education programs. For some, it may mean the difference between keeping the doors open, and not.''
Numerous area arts organizations receive funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which faces a 50 percent cut in state grant funds - from this fiscal year's $2.4 million to $1.2 million.
``Given the pressures on the state budget, no one should be surprised by any of the spending cuts,'' said Peggy Baggett, the arts commission's executive director.
Allen also proposed that state funds for public television be cut in half and grants for public radio eliminated for 1995-96.
Norfolk-based WHRO, which operates two radio stations and one television station, projected state funds for 1995-96 at $1.25 million - 20 percent of its $6.2 million budget.
About $530,000 in state funds earmarked for educational television would not be cut.
Proposed federal cuts to public broadcasting also were announced last week, threatening a source for 13 percent of WHRO's budget, board Chairman John A. Fahey said.
If all the proposed federal and state cuts hold, then WHRO will lose about 20 percent of its budget.
Radio will be hardest hit because a third of WHRO's $1 million radio budget comes from state and federal funds.
``It'll mean a hard look at programming,'' Fahey said. ``We'll have to look carefully at reduction of programming and probably staff.''
KEYWORDS: BUDGET ARTS by CNB